Pocahontas County Schools

Tomorrow is Service Personnel Appreciation Day! At this time, I would like to take the opportunity to thank all of our service personnel for the work they do each and every day to make our schools better! The first people most students see each day are the bus drivers, custodians, or cooks. That first contact can make or break a student's day. In Pocahontas County, we are very fortunate that all of our service employees do their best to make our kids feel welcome, safe, and cared for. We thank our bus drivers, cooks, custodians, aides, secretaries, maintenance men, and bus mechanics for making our school system successful. Thank you so much for what you do!

Scholarship Information

Thank you for your hard work. We hope you enjoy Monday, September 5 as we celebrate Labor Day.

Due to the fact that the West Virginia Student Information System, which is designed by the state, is not fully functional, there will be errors in student schedules. Presently, LiveGrades is not accessible to teachers, students, and parents as every school system that uses LiveGrades is waiting for WVEIS to upload the necessary information. We are also awaiting the student uploads to be able to give the iReady benchmarks and the West Virginia Summative Assessment Interim Modules and Comprehensive Interim Assessments. Since WVEIS is an intra network program that is maintained at the West Virginia Department of Education, it is outside of Pocahontas County’s control to fix the functionality of the program. As we patiently await the changes and the improvements in functionality, we will keep parents informed of their children’s progress through emails and phone calls. We anticipate that the system will be fully functional within the second month of school.”

Congratulations to Jenny Friel, West Virginia School Nurse of the Year for 2022-2023.

There is a correction on the pick up time at Linwood Library. Pickup will be at 6:40 AM not 7:00 AM. Again, pickup at Linwood Library at 6:40 AM!

The Snowshoe bus stop has been moved to the Linwood Library parking lot. Mr. Forrest Mullenax, the driver, asks the parents to park on the right side so the students do not walk behind the bus. He will come and turn the bus and then open the door facing where the parents park so the kids will be on the door side of the bus. Pick up is @ 7:00 AM give or take 10 minutes on each side and drop off between 4:00 and 4:15The Snowshoe bus stop has been moved to the Linwood Library parking lot. Mr. Forrest Mullenax, the driver, asks the parents to park on the right side so the students do not walk behind the bus. He will come and turn the bus and then open the door facing where the parents park so the kids will be on the door side of the bus. Pick up is @ 7:00 AM give or take 10 minutes on each side and drop off between 4:00 and 4:15.. Please share this information with your family friends and neighbors!

Pocahontas County Schools Bus Routes for the 2022-2023 School Year! https://5il.co/1g2he

We are excited to see you back to school! The first day for students is Monday, August 15. See you soon!

Attention Parents of 7th and 12th Graders: Pocahontas County Schools would like to inform/remind you that all 7th and 12th graders will be required to show proof of two important immunizations prior to school entry. These include Tdap and meningococcal vaccines, which protect against vaccine-preventable diseases such as bacterial meningitis and pertussis. Please make sure that your 7th and/or 12th grader has received and provided documentation of these immunizations prior to the start of the school year. If you don’t get the immunizations before the first day of school, then students will be denied entry. You can go to your primary care physician or the Pocahontas County Health Department (if you don't have a primary care physician or if they don't carry the vaccine).

Our Early Literacy Summer Program is offered for children preschool - kindergarten at four of our local libraries. The program provides a literacy rich experience involving song, movement, nursery rhymes, read-aloud, and arts/crafts. Students will receive books and personally created art. The program is led by certified teachers. Contact your local library to find out when it is available near you.

Battle of the Books 2022- 2023 The attached list of books is the new books chosen for the 2022-2023 Battle of the Books competition. Battle of the Books competition will be held in the 2022-2023 upcoming school year. Information on the county competition will be distributed later. The books will be added to each library in our county in early June, so please stop by your local library to check out one of the books to get a head start and begin your reading journey. If you have any questions, please email smburns@k12.wv.us. Enjoy your reading expedition!

Pocahontas County Schools wishes you and your family a safe and happy Independence Day!

We still have two more weeks of Summer Camp! We hope that kindergarten - eighth graders can join us at Marlinton Elementary School.

American Connectivity Program (ACP) The Affordable Connectivity Program is an FCC benefit program that helps ensure that households can afford the broadband they need for work, school, healthcare and more. The benefit provides a discount of up to $30 per month toward internet service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands. Eligible households can also receive a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers if they contribute more than $10 and less than $50 toward the purchase price. The ACP benefit is limited to one monthly service discount and one device discount per household. Who Is Eligible for the Affordable Connectivity Program? A household is eligible for the ACP if the household income is at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines, or if a member of the household meets at least one of the criteria below:  Received a Federal Pell Grant during the current award year;  Meets the eligibility criteria for a participating provider's existing low-income internet program;  Participates in one of these assistance programs:  The National School Lunch Program or the School Breakfast Program, including through the USDA Community Eligibility Provision;  SNAP  Medicaid  Federal Public Housing Assistance  Supplemental Security Income (SSI)  WIC  Veterans Pension or Survivor Benefits  or Lifeline;  Participates in one of these assistance programs and lives on Qualifying Tribal lands:  Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance  Tribal TANF  Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations  Tribal Head Start (income based) Visit this link for a list of participating companies: https://www.affordableconnectivity.gov/companies-near-me/ How to Enroll There are two steps to enroll for ACP benefits. Apply Now 1. Go to AffordableConnectivity.gov to submit an application or print out a mail-in application. 2. Contact your preferred participating provider to select a plan and have the discount applied to your bill. Some providers may have an additional application to complete the ACP enrollment process. Eligible households must both apply for the program and contact a participating provider to select a service plan. Additional resources are available at: Support Contact ACPSupport@usac.org or 1-877-384-2575 FCC ACP Information https://www.fcc.gov/acp

Attention all rising first through ninth graders! Pocahontas County Schools is hosting Summer Camps. Join us for a week, two, three, or all four! See the attached flyer or call: 304-799-5023 for more information.

Registration for Summer Camps with Pocahontas County Schools is now open for students in grades kindergarten through eighth! You may use the QR Code, the link below, or contact the board office for a paper copy. Link: https://forms.office.com/r/DPcxpcBa1U This year's summer camps will be held at Marlinton Elementary School in the afternoon after Energy Express. Summer Camps are four unique weeks of activities (explained at the beginning of the form). For more information, please contact Lynne Bostic at 304-799-5023

The last day of the 2021-22 school year will be Wednesday, May 25. Students will be dismissed three hours early on that date. Thank you for a wonderful school year and we look forward to seeing you in one of our summer camps or on our first day of school for the 2022-23 school year which starts on Monday, August 15.

May 11 is School Nurse Day. We want to take this opportunity to recognize Nurse Jenny Friel for all she does for our students and staff. Nurse Jenny is a consummate employee that always does her job with a smile on her face and the best interest of our students in her heart. Thank you, Nurse Jenny so much! We also want to thank our LPNs: Michelle Ryder, Tammy Rider, and Jessica Oxier for all that they do for our kids! They have been a wonderful addition to our school system and are a great help to Nurse Jenny.

A reminder: May 4, 2022 will be an early dismissal for all students. This three-hour early dismissal is a scheduled professional learning afternoon for staff.